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Underground meth lab discovered beneath Walmart parking lot in western New York

NY Daily News, September 8, 2016

A possible underground meth lab was found below a Walmart parking lot in western New York Monday afternoon.

Amherst police found a spray paint can, chemicals and a liquid they believed to be methamphetamine, Amherst Police Captain Scott Chamberlin told NBC 4. The lab, found in a culvert that was tall enough for someone to stand up in, was discovered during a routine patrol.

“We check in various areas that people who might be up to no good, might be using for no good,” Chamberlin told the station.

First responders in hazmat suits removed the evidence, which officials said had no threat of air contamination or flammability. The store stayed open during the investigation.

“I seen men suited up, and I didn't know if somebody got hurt or, you know, I didn't know. And then I was talking to somebody, and they said it was a meth lab,” shopper Marie Jamieson told WGRZ. “I'm like a meth lab? In Walmart's parking lot? You know, that's crazy.”

No arrests have been made yet and officers said they are reviewing Walmart surveillance tapes.

Police said they would be working to make sure the culvert will no longer be accessible to the public.